LDF's win a resounding acceptance of govt's policies:Vijayan

The CPI-M-led LDF candidate's victory in the Chengannur assembly bypoll is a resounding acceptance of the two-year-old government's policies, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said today.

The victory has only humbled the government and has increased its responsibilities, Vijayan said following the impressive win of CPI-M's Saji Cheriyan by 20,956 votes over his nearest Congress rival.

"This is a victory for progress, secularism and development," Vijayan said.

The result showed that the left government has succeeded in unifying the state's people. The government would carry forward its development and welfare programmes, Vijayan said.

"The government cannot be cowed down by controversies and malicious campaign. Government will not retreat from development initiatives," he added.

Lashing out at the media, the chief minister said the poll outcome has established that "people" were the final judges and not anchors in Television channels who control debates.

"People are the final judges," Vijayan, whose government faced severe criticism in recent days over police "lapses" in a case connected with alleged honour killing of a 23-year-old man and custodial death of a youth.

Vijayan said the LDF victory was also against the "unfounded malacious campaign" against government unleashed by the Opposition with help from a section of the media.

He listed various instances of media reports flaying the LDF government after it assumed office in May 2016.

The government would go ahead with development initiatives such as laying of the Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) pipleline, he said.

"The face of the state is set for a change in the next four years," Vijayan said.

However, Vijayan said government welcomed healthy criticism and is ready to take corrective steps and accept suggestions.

The chief minister said the LDF when it was in the Opposition had taken a positive approach on development issues.

On the other hand, the Congress-led UDF Opposition was adopting an attitude of sabotaging development works,he said.

Vijayan, a senior CPI-M politburo member, said defeat and fall in the BJP candidate's vote-share was a clear signal that people of the state were against the "communal and divisive" agenda of the saffron party.

The Congress-led UDF candidate D Vijaykumar secured 46,347 votes and BJP's P S Sreedharan Pillai came third with 35,270 votes.

The bypoll was necessitated following the death of sitting MLA K K Ramachandran Nair in January.